Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 178: They are all protecting their shortcomings
Even though he always disliked his youngest son who had no other advantages except being plump and slippery, Lu Wan still felt heartbroken when he saw Lu Sanlang like this. He admitted that Zhang Shou was indeed outstanding and handsome, and the most rare thing was that he had talents that matched his appearance, but he still didn't like to see his son behave like someone else's follower.
However, now was not the time to teach his son a lesson, so he just snorted coldly and rode away without looking at anything. Although there were also means of transportation such as sedan chairs and carriages, as a young and strong minister of the Ministry of War, he was unwilling to show the slightest weakness. As for what was prepared for Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang, there was no doubt that they were also mounts.
However, after setting off, he looked back and got angry again. Zhang Shou's horse was sent by the Duke of Zhao's mansion early in the morning. It looked docile and obedient, but on the surface it looked very majestic and magnificent. The horse carrying the fat boy was just the opposite. It hung its head and looked lifeless, as if silently protesting against the heavy weight of its master.
Lu Sanlang didn't know that his father was disappointed with him. As the youngest son, although he was quite famous among the nobles in the capital - most of them used to have a bad reputation, but now most of them are astonished - however, the little fat boy was still not qualified to enter the palace, let alone attend such a solemn occasion as the court.
So, when he was about to reach the Chang'an Left Gate of the Outer Imperial City, he couldn't help but look around, extremely curious.
If it were any other day, Lu Wan would have been angry and scolded him, but at this moment, he forcibly suppressed the impulse and watched Zhang Shou, his teacher, react. However, until he finally dismounted, he did not wait for Zhang Shou to open his mouth to blame Lu Sanlang for his embarrassing behavior, which was like a country boy entering the city for the first time.
Zhang Shou didn't think there was anything shameful about the fat boy . He himself had visited royal palaces and castles in various countries, so he didn't have that much awe and curiosity about the imperial palace today. It was the fat boy's first time back, so what was a big deal if he looked around like a curious baby?
However, when the father and the teacher all turned a deaf ear to Lu Sanlang's actions for their own reasons, there were still people who couldn't stand it. Just when the little fat boy had just set his feet on the ground, a voice came .
"This is Chang'an Zuomen, not a market or tavern. Since this is your first time here, Mr. Lu San, don't you know how to be cautious and look straight ahead?"
Lu Sanlang immediately looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Zhao Ying's father, Zhao Shilang, the Minister of War, who his father used to use as a role model for him. He immediately raised his eyebrows and wanted to sarcastically say, "You are the father of Mr. Zhao who is stupid and still making excuses for yourself?" However, the fat boy was a smart man after all. With his father and teacher standing in front of him, he didn't have a chance to speak no matter how hard he thought.
As expected, the calm Zhang Shou spoke first: "In the past, saints looked down on Lu when they climbed Dongshan Mountain, and looked down on the world when they climbed Taishan Mountain. Now, since it is the first time for Lu Sanlang to come here, he is very excited. Naturally, he wants to take a closer look at this central court and see those senior figures who can decide the affairs of the world with a single word, so as to broaden his horizons. It would be a pity if he lost the opportunity to admire and learn from them because of his cautiousness."
Minister Zhao immediately sneered: "Doctor Zhang, are you comparing your students to saints?"
Zhang Shou looked at Minister Zhao intently, then smiled faintly, "If you are not a saint, can't you learn from the saint's detached vision? Minister Zhao, do you think that the officials in the court who are respected as stars by the common people and have their own literary and military talents are not worthy of Lu Sanlang's admiration and learning? Or do you think that your talents and virtues are not worthy of Lu Sanlang's admiration and learning?"
Lu Wan didn't expect Zhang Shou to be so unreasonable, as if he was just speaking for his student. Seeing that Minister Zhao had clearly changed his expression after being contradicted, he was immediately pleased. He had only used Zhao Ying to stimulate Lu Sanlang to make progress, and he was not really close to Minister Zhao. How could he not be furious when someone was so mean to his own son?
He then said lightly, "Dr. Zhang, why bother talking to someone who sticks to the old ways and only knows how to follow the rules? You must know that when the emperor first established Jiuzhang Hall, Minister Zhao strongly opposed it. Later, he instructed his son Zhao Ying, who was known for his talent, to take the exam. In the end, he failed the interview at Jiuzhang Hall. I don't know what that means."
Lu Sanlang didn't expect that his father seemed not to speak for him, but when he really spoke up, his words were as sharp as a knife, piercing his heart directly! Thinking of what he learned from Zhang Shou last night, that the marriage his father arranged for him was originally the youngest daughter of Minister Liu of the Ministry of Works, he couldn't help but feel for the first time in his life that the old man who had always been annoying actually had a lovely side.
Minister Zhao usually boasted about his three sons. His eldest son was a Jinshi , his second son was a Juren, and his youngest son ranked first in the county exam and eighth in the prefectural exam. He was much better than Lu Wan, who had one Jinshi son, one Xiucai son, and one good-for-nothing son!
Therefore, in the past, he was not afraid of Lu Shangshu at all, and he would stand up to him whenever he had to, trying not to let himself, the left minister, be suppressed. However, today, he was crushed because of his son! Who made him think that his son failed to win the first place in the Shuntian Prefecture exam because of his poor math skills, so he planned to send him to Jiuzhangtang Middle School?
Minister Zhao, with a flushed face, was about to argue again, but two people among the cabinet ministers who occupied the highest position in the civil service sequence in front of him spoke one after another.
"It's the first time for a young man to attend the court. Even if there are any mistakes, they are not intentional. Why should we go to extremes to correct them?"
"Everyone has a day when they feel overwhelmed when they go to court. Don't forget your original intention."
When he found out that it was Grand Secretary Wu and Grand Secretary Kong, although Minister Zhao was not really afraid of them, he still kept his mouth shut. Apart from anything else, his youngest son's interview paper was still in the Shuntian government office, and he didn't want to make any more mistakes. Sure enough, he saw Shuntian prefect Wang Datou and Imperial College Jiji Zhou Xun and Zhang Shou greeting each other, and even Lu Sanlang received a few compliments from them.
Secretly angry and humiliated, he took a deep breath and immediately made up his mind.
Since Zhang Shou was blind and actually valued the fat man of the Lu family and abandoned his youngest son Zhao Ying, don't blame him for being rude! Even though Shuntian Prefecture spent a lot of effort to deal with the aftermath of last night's incident, he couldn't hide the whole story from him! Just look at the fact that the emperor actually made an exception and let Lu Sanlang attend the morning court, which shows that this matter will inevitably be mentioned today!
Zhang Shou was unfamiliar with the etiquette of the regular court, and Lu Sanlang was even more clueless, so Lu Wan explained a few words to them on the way, but the main point was just three words - follow the crowd. And Zhang Shou also felt that according to his understanding of the system created by Taizu, at least today he didn't have to kneel down and kowtow like a kowtowworm.
Just as he thought, the etiquette of the regular court was not complicated, and could even be said to be simple. And because there were fewer people, he did not have to stand in the vast square in front of the palace to enjoy the breeze, but could enter the Fengtian Palace. In this sheltered place, he had plenty of space standing at the back. Therefore, after bowing with a large number of officials, he began to listen and think.
Zhang Shou guessed that he and Lu Sanlang were summoned today, probably because of the sudden incident last night, but he was not nervous.
It’s not that he thinks the matter is not a big deal, but it has come to this point, there is no point in being nervous!
The regular court was not just a formality, but a real place for discussion. All topics were summarized and drafted the night before, so there was no such thing as a topic that was suddenly brought up at the court meeting.
The first few events were related to military and political affairs in the north and southwest. He listened attentively. When he found that the Duke of Zhao's advance was smooth and some of the captured soldiers and civilians had incited a tribe of northern barbarians to revolt, he felt relieved and listened to other events, big and small, with a bit of relief. From beginning to end, the emperor rarely spoke, and mostly said "yes" after the results were obtained.
It took him half an hour to go through all the big and small things. Suddenly, he heard the emperor say, "Today's regular court meeting should have been almost over. But last night, there was an emergency that happened. I thought about it and decided to talk about it today. Wang Qing, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, you come and tell us about it."
Wang Jie stood up expressionlessly. He glanced at the second prince, who was looking down with a hint of anger on his face. He was more likely to blame others than to reflect on himself. He sighed inwardly and glanced at the eldest prince. He still looked as majestic as before. He used to think that he looked like a wise ruler, but now he sneered in his heart.
After withdrawing his gaze and thoughts, he reported in a deep voice everything that happened on the Chongwenmen Street last night. Although he was not at the scene at the time, combined with the testimonies of the officers and relevant eyewitnesses, even if Shuntian Prefecture did not summon Lu Sanlang, he repeated Lu Sanlang's original words that scolded the Second Prince at that time.
The high-ranking officials who had learned about the incident last night from various channels could not help but exchange subtle glances with each other. For a moment, many eyes, openly or secretly, fell on the Second Prince, the troublemaker. Even the First Prince was not spared. After all, the First Prince's appearance was too coincidental and too precise.
After introducing the general situation, Wang Jie said lightly: "In front of a large crowd, the second prince rode his horse down the street, which is the first fault; he insulted a commoner girl for no reason, which is the second fault; because the head of the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College, Lu Zhu, spoke for justice, he said that the two of them had a private affair, which is the third fault; if the eldest prince hadn't stopped him, he would have almost been whipped in the street, which is the fourth fault!"
